Mao Dun
literary prize winner Zhou Daxin’s latest novel to be published, “The Sky Gets
Dark, Slowly”, is a sensitive exploration of old age and the complex, hidden
emotional worlds of the elderly in a rapidly ageing population.

In it
he writes, “…Many elderly speak as though they know everything, but of old age
they are in fact as ignorant as children. Many elderly are in fact, completely
unprepared for what they are to face when it comes to getting old and the road
that lays ahead of them.

In the
time between a person turning 60 years old, as they begin to age, right until
all the lights go out and the sky gets dark, there are some situations to keep
in mind, so that you will be prepared for what is to come, and you will not
panic.

1. The
people by your side will only continue to grow smaller in number. People in
your parents’ and grandparents’ generation have largely all left, whilst many
your peers will increasingly find it harder to look after themselves, and the
younger generations will all be busy with their own lives. Even your wife
or husband may depart earlier than you, or than you would expect, and what
might then come are days of emptiness. You will have to learn how to live
alone, and to enjoy and embrace solitude.

2.
Society will care less and less for you. No matter how glorious your previous
career was or how famous you were, ageing will always transform you into a
regular old man and old lady. The spotlight no longer shines on you, and you
have to learn to contend with standing quietly in one corner, to admire and
appreciate the hubbub and views that come after you, and you must overcome the
urge to be envious or grumble.

3. The
road ahead will be rocky and full of precarity. Fractures, cardio-vascular
blockages, brain atrophy, cancer… these are all possible guests that could pay
you a visit any time, and you would not be able to turn them away. You will
have to live with illness and ailments, to view them as friends, even; do not
fantasise about stable, quiet days without any trouble in your body. Maintaining
a positive mentality and get appropriate, adequate exercise is your duty, and
you have to encourage yourself to keep at it consistently.

4. Prepare for bed-bound life, a return to the infant state. Our
mothers brought us into this world on a bed, and after a journey of twists and
turns and a life of struggle, we return to our starting point – the bed – and
to the state of having to be looked after by others. The only difference being,
where we once had our mothers to care for us, when we prepare to leave, we may
not have our kin to look after us. Even if we have kin, their care may never
come close to that of your mother’s; you will, more likely than not, be cared
for by nursing staff who bear zero relation to you, wearing smiles on their
faces all whilst carrying weariness and boredom in their hearts. Lay still and
don’t be difficult; remember to be grateful.

5.
There will be many swindlers and scammers along the way. Many of them know that
the elderly have lots of savings, and will endlessly be thinking of ways to
cheat them of their money: through scam phone calls, text messages, mail, food
and product samples, get-rich-quick schemes, products for longevity or
enlightenment… basically, all they want is to get all the money. Beware, and be
careful, hold your money close to you. A fool and his money are soon parted, so
spend your pennies wisely.

Before the sky gets dark, the last stretches of
life’s journey will gradually get dimmer and dimmer; naturally, it will be
harder to see the path ahead that you are treading towards, and it will be
harder to keep going forward. As such, upon turning 60, it would do us all well
to see life for what it is, to cherish what we have, to enjoy life whilst we
can, and to not take on society’s troubles or your children’s and
grandchildren’s affairs on for yourself. Stay humble, don’t act superior on
account of your own age and talk down to others – this will hurt yourself as
much as it will hurt others. As we get older, all the better should we be able
to understand what respect is and what it counts for. In these later days of
your lives, you have to understand what it means, to let go of your
attachments, to mentally prepare yourself. The way of nature is the way of
life; go with its flow, and live with equanimity.

The author :

Mao Dun (4
July 1896 – 27 March 1981) , a writer who said literature should not be an
''intoxication'' but whose ideology-laced works showed a psychological
penetration, died today, the official news agency Xinhua reported. He was 85
years old.

Mr. Mao was best known for his 1933 novel ''Midnight,'' an indictment of Shanghai's newly emerging
industrialists. The book also told of peasant uprisings, labor strikes and
rural depression.

Mr. Mao was cultural minister from 1949 to
1965 and like many in the arts, was criticized during the Cultural Revolution
of the late 1960's. In recent years, he was president of the Chinese Writers
Association and editor of Chinese Literature, a magazine.

Mao Dun was a pen name. He was born Shen
Yen-ping. Xinhua reported last month that Mr. Mao's ''Ordeal,'' which he wrote
more than 30 years ago in Hong Kong, was about to be published for the first
time. Mr. Mao wrote in the preface that he intended to write a five-volume
novel giving a comprehensive description of major political and economic events
in China. He had finished
the first volume when he heeded a Communist Party call to take a post here,
according to Xinhua.

In 1919, Mr. Mao and
others founded a society encouraging realistic literature and opposing ''art
for art's sake.'' In 1930, he joined the Chinese League of Left-Wing Writers.
During China's war against Japan and the civil war,
he was regarded as a major figure in the leftist arts movement in areas under
the control of the Kuomintang.

Mr. Mao once wrote: ''Literature is not
intended to provide relief for those who suffer from the ennui of life, but it
performs a positive function of stimulating the human mind. Especially in our
age, we hope it will aim to shoulder the heavy responsibility of awakening the
masses and giving them strength.''

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